The People's Republic of China is confronting a potentially massive HIV epidemic, together with an alarming shortage of health workers trained to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. There is thus an urgent need for scientists and health professionals who will be able to conduct sophisticated HIV research and train other health professionals. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) proposes to establish a comprehensive multidisciplinary HIV/AIDS training program - China ICOHRTA - with the assistance of the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale University. The proposed five-year program will 1) provide research training to senior staff at the China CDC and its affiliated institutions, who will be able to provide leadership in multidisciplinary HIV research, direct training efforts, provide further training/mentoring, and influence policy-making in the disciplines of biostatistics, behavioral sciences, anthropology, nursing, AIDS treatment, health services and policy; 2) develop a core group of young scientists who will assume roles as HIV/AIDS researchers and teachers, through joint master's and doctoral programs with UCLA and Yale; 3) provide research training to key research staff at project sites and graduates of schools of public health in Yunnan, Shanxi, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui; and 4) strengthen the research infrastructure at the China CDC to support long-term research and training goals. There will be a high degree of interaction between the China ICOHRTA and ongoing research projects in China such as the CIPRA, POL, HPTN, and CDC Gap programs. The overall goal of the China ICOHRTA is to establish an independent HIV/AIDS training center at the China CDC which can assist other academic and research institutions in China in the training of health professionals and researchers to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic. UCLA and Yale will take a major role in the academic aspects of the program initially but the major responsibility will shift to the China CDC as the program matures and as graduates of the China ICOHRTA assume leadership roles there and in its affiliated institutions. Successful implementation of the China ICOHRTA should significantly increase China's capacity to meet the challenge of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. [unreadable]